COLUMBIA, Ky. – The softball edition of the "Battle of Highway 55" opened with a split on Saturday afternoon. Campbellsville utilized a strong start to pull away in game one before a combination of stellar pitching and clutch hitting in game two put Lindsey Wilson on the board and snapped a four-game skid for the Blue Raiders in the series.
Brylee Pickerell connected on four extra-base hits en route to a team-high five hits on the day, while
Brooklynn Becker chipped in three and scored three runs.
All told, the hosts outhit the Tigers 14-12.
Game One: Lindsey Wilson 4, (RV) Campbellsville 9
A six-run second inning by the Tigers put Lindsey Wilson in an early hole in the first of Saturday's twin bill.
The visitor's lead extended to 7-0 before the Blue Raiders found some offense in the third inning off a
Kendall Dailey groundout to plate Pickerell.
Campbellsville tallied two more runs in the top half of the fourth frame. Still, Lindsey Wilson continued to fight back.
An infielder grounder off the bat of
Olivia Franceschi in the bottom of the fifth inning scored Pickerell, again, then Wandrie drove in a run with an RBI-single to left field, cutting the deficit to 9-3.
A miscue by the Tigers' defense in the bottom of the sixth inning pushed across
McKenna Ingram to pull Lindsey Wilson within five, but the Blue Raiders could go no further.
Grace Adams (L, 1-3) started in the circle for the home side and went 1.2 inning with two strikeouts.
Savannah Robbins and
Abigail Cruz each made relief appearances and combined for three strikeouts and one earned run on four hits.
Game Two: Lindsey Wilson 7, Campbellsville 3
Freshman
Kayden Murray earned her fifth victory of the season in game two, recording a season-high 12 strikeouts to stifle the Tiger offense.
Meanwhile, on offense, Pickerell made her presence known with back-to-back home runs and a double for safe measures.
The senior's first of the game opened the scoring in the third frame as she launched a solo shot to right-center field. Then, two innings later, Pickerell sent the first pitch she saw to deep left field to score Becker as well and give Lindsey Wilson a 3-0 advantage.
The two-run blast turned out to be only the beginning of the Blue Raiders' fifth-inning scoring charge.
Kelsie Bostock joined in on the action with a one-run RBI-single, followed by a bases-loaded base-hit by
Natalie Shaw to push home
Elizabeth Funk and Ingram and balloon Lindsey Wilson's lead to 6-0.
An infielder grounder by Wandrie in the sixth capped the host's efforts at the plate for the day as it was enough to plate Becker.
The rest was up to Murray on the rubber, which she delivered despite a late threat by Campbellsville.
Day two of the Mid-South Conference series is slated for a 12 p.m. CST start on Sunday at Marilyn D. Sparks Park.
